On stage: Maine State Police Lt. Colonel John Cote (L), Maine Warden Service Chaplain Kate Braestrup and Freeport Police Department Lieutenant Nathaniel Goodman.
 

On stage: Maine State Police Lt. Colonel John Cote (L), Maine Warden Service Chaplain Kate Braestrup and Freeport Police Department Lieutenant Nathaniel Goodman.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Hundreds of law enforcement officers and firefighters have paid tribute to a policeman who suffered fatal injuries while searching for a missing canoeist in Maine.

The memorial honoring Nathan Desjardins on Friday included remarks from his police chief, his father and his brother. The gathering at the Augusta Civic Center exceeded 1,000 people.

The 20-year-old Fryeburg officer suffered a head injury when the boat he was riding in hit a submerged object May 27 during a river rescue on his first day of water rescue training.

The body of the missing canoeist was recovered four days later.

Desjardins, meanwhile, succumbed June 6 to his injuries. The Maine Warden Service says his death was the state’s 85th law enforcement death in the line of duty.

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